According to Russia today, he made the statement in an interview with American journalist Tucker Carlson on Friday.
Asked to comment on the UK’s declaration that it was ready to send troops to Ukraine to guarantee a potential peace deal between Moscow and Kiev, Witkov suggested that British policymakers “want to be like Winston Churchill.”
When asked by Carlson if Russia wanted to do this, Witkov replied, “Not 100%.”
“By the way, I think that’s ridiculous. There’s something called NATO that I didn’t have in World War II,” he added.
According to Witkov, Moscow also does not want to “absorb Ukraine.” “It’s like occupying Gaza. Why do the Israelis want to occupy Gaza for the rest of their lives? They don’t. They want stability there. They don’t want to deal with it.”
Witkov argued that Russia had already achieved its goal in the conflict. “They have reclaimed these five regions. They have Crimea and they have what they want. So why do they need more?”
Crimea overwhelmingly voted to join Russia in a referendum in 2014 after a Western-supported coup in Kiev in the areas of Donetsk, Lugansk, Herson and Zaporozier.
Witkov’s interview came after a face-to-face lecture with Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier this month as part of a diplomacy aimed at mediating the end of the Ukrainian conflict. After the talks, he suggested that a full ceasefire could be reached within “a few weeks,” adding that the US could ease Moscow’s sanctions once an agreement was reached.
Amidst the Ukrainian conflict, many European leaders claim that Russian ports are planning to attack NATO countries within a few years. Putin dismissed the claim as “nonsense,” claiming that Russia has no interest in doing so.
MNA